10:30am Worship - CCA Savannah (3/15/2026)

Good morning everyone.

>> Welcome to Christ Church Anglican for

worship this morning. Uh this is the

fourth Sunday of Lent as we continue

this season of preparation for Holy Week

and for Easter, a time of penitence, a

time of prayer and fasting and seeking

the Lord also with being generous in our

offerings.

And as we continue in Lent, we'll at the

beginning of the service, we'll pray

through the decalogue. And I know that

can seem wrote sometimes to pray through

the ten commandments and asking God to

incline our hearts to keep this law. So

I encourage you to really invite the

Holy Spirit to help you in that time of

prayer to come into your heart and even

as we pray for our hearts to be purified

in the collect of purity to pray for God

to maybe provide some conviction, some

sanctification during that time of

prayer at the beginning of our service.

And let us pray now and set our hearts

and minds on seeking the Lord and

opening ourselves to him and what he has

for us today through his word and

through his spirit and through the body

of Christ and inviting him to also speak

to us the words that we need to hear and

that he wants us to hear today. Let us

pray.

Father, we come to you through Jesus

Christ, the way, the truth, and the

life, who brings us before you in his

righteousness, that we might stand with

confidence before you, worshiping,

praying, receiving, and listening.

God, we invite you to minister to us

according to your goodness and love for

each one of us. Come, Holy Spirit.

You are the Lord of our lives, the Lord

of this church. Come and have your way

among us. We give you the space and the

room to minister. Help us to worship

you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a

way of which you are worthy and in which

you delight. And let your name be

glorified today, the name of Jesus,

drawing all people unto him. Amen.

Hallelujah.

Good morning.

Heat.

Hallelujah.

Heat. Heat.

Heat.

Yeah.

Heat.

Heat. Heat. Heat.

Yeah.

Heat.

Oh,

heat,

heat.

Heat. Heat. Heat.

Heat.

Bless the Lord who forgives all our

sins.

>> His mercy endures forever.

>> Praying together. Almighty God,

>> to you all hearts are open, all desires

and from you are cleanse the thoughts of

our hearts by the inspiration of your

holy spirit that we may love you and

worthy magnify your holy name through

Christ our Lord. Amen.

>> Please kneel as you're able.

God spoke these words and said, "I am

the Lord your God. You shall have no

other gods but me."

>> Lord, have mercy upon us and our hearts

to keep this law.

>> You shall not make for yourself any

idol. Lord have mercy upon us.

>> You shall not take the name of the Lord

your God in vain.

>> Lord have mercy upon us and incl.

>> Remember the Sabbath day and keep it

holy.

>> Lord have mercy upon us and our hearts.

>> Honor your father and your mother. Lord

have mercy upon us and our hearts to

keep us all.

>> You shall not murder.

>> Lord have mercy upon us.

>> You shall not commit adultery.

>> Lord have mercy upon us.

>> You shall not steal.

>> Lord have mercy upon us.

Teach us all.

>> You shall not bear false witness against

your neighbor.

>> Lord have mercy upon us.

>> You shall not covet.

>> Lord have mercy on us.

Mercy

upon us. Christ

have mercy

upon us. Lord

have mercy

upon

us.

>> The Lord be with you.

>> Let us pray.

Gracious Father, who whose blessed son

Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be

the true bread which gives life to the

world. Evermore, give us this bread that

he may live in us and we in him, who

lives and reigns with you in the Holy

Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Please be seated for the reading of Holy

Scripture.

A reading from 1st Samuel chapter 16

beginning with verse 1.

The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will

you grieve over Saul since I have

rejected him from being king over

Israel?

Fill your horn with oil and go. I will

send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for

I have provided for myself a king among

his sons." And Samuel said, "How can I

go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me."

The Lord said, "Take a heer with you and

say, I have come to sacrifice to the

Lord, and invite Jesse to the sacrifice,

and I will show you what you shall do,

and you shall anoint for me him whom I

declare to you." Samuel did what the

Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem.

The elders of the city came to meet him

trembling and said, "Do you come

peaceibly?" And he said, "Peacey, I have

come to sacrifice to the Lord.

Consecrate yourselves and come with me

to the sacrifice." And he consecrated

Jesse and his sons and invited them to

the sacrifice.

When they came, he looked on Elab and

thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is

before him." But the Lord said to

Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance

or on the height of his stature, because

I have rejected him." For the Lord sees

not as man sees. Man looks on the

outward appearance, but the Lord looks

on the heart." Then Jesse called

Abinadab and made him pass before

Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the

Lord chosen this one." Then Jesse made

Shama passed by. And he said, "Neither

has the Lord chosen this one." And Jesse

made seven of his sons pass before

Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The

Lord has not chosen these." Then Samuel

said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?"

And he said, "There remains yet the

youngest, but behold, he is keeping the

sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send

and get him, for we will not sit down

till he comes here." And he sat and he

sent and brought him in. Now he was

ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was

handsome. And the Lord said, "Arise,

anoint him, for this is he." Then Samuel

took the horn of oil and anointed him in

the midst of his brothers. And the

spirit of the Lord rushed upon David

from that day forward. And Samuel rose

up and went to Rama.

The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

The Lord is my

heures

and for beside the waters of

He shall refresh my soul

and bring me forth into the

righteousness for his name.

Even though I walk through the valley of

the shadow of death, I will fear no.

You shall prepare a table before me in

the presence of those who trouble me.

You have anointed my head with oil and

my cup.

Surely your mercy shall follow me all

the days of my life

and I will dwell in the house of the

Lord forever.

A reading from Ephesians chapter 5,

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

beginning with verse one.

Therefore, be imitators of God, as

beloved children, and walk in love as

Christ loved us and gave himself up for

us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to

God. But sexual immorality and all

impurity or covetousness must not even

be named among you as is proper among

saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor

foolish talk, nor crude joking, which

are out of place, but instead let there

be thanksgiving.

For you may be sure of this, that

everyone who is sexually immoral or

impure or who is coveted, that is an

idoltor, has no inheritance in the

kingdom of Christ and God.

Let no one deceive you with empty words.

For because of these things, the wrath

of God comes upon the sons of

disobedience.

Therefore, do not become partners with

them. For at one time you were darkness,

but now you are light in the Lord. Walk

as children of light. For the fruit of

light is found in all that is good and

right and true and try to discern what

is pleasing to the Lord.

Take no part in the unfruitful works of

darkness, but instead expose them. For

it is shameful even to speak of the

things that they do in secret. But when

anything is exposed by the light, it

becomes visible. For anything that

becomes visible is light. Therefore, it

says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from

the dead, and Christ will shine on you."

The word of the Lord.

>> Thanks be to God.

And now invite any children to come

forth and follow the crucifer out for

little church.

And as they gather, let us pray a

blessing over them. Father, we're

grateful for the children amongst us. We

pray that you'd bless them and keep them

and that they would never know a day

apart from your love. Amen.

Heat. Heat.

Heat.

that we

and

I ask you Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat.

till my heart

Heat. Heat.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

according to John.

>> Glory to you Lord Christ.

>> Here begins the first verse of the ninth

chapter.

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind

from birth. And his disciples asked him,

"Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his

parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus

answered, "It was not that this man sin

or his parents, but that the works of

God might be displayed in him. We must

work the works of him who sent me while

it is day. Night is coming when no one

can work. As long as I am in the world,

I am the light of the world." Having

said these things, he spat on the ground

and made mud with the saliva. Then he

anointed the man's eyes with the mud,

and he said to him, "Go wash in the pool

of Salom," which means scent. So he went

and washed and came back seeing. The

neighbors and those who had seen him

before as a beggar were saying, "Is this

not the man who used to sit and beg?"

Some said, "It is he." Others said, "No,

but he is like him." He kept saying, "I

am the man." So they said to him, "Then

how are your eyes opened?" He answered,

"The man called Jesus made mud and

anointed my eyes and said to me, "Go to

Salom and wash." So I went and washed

and received my sight. They said to him,

"Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."

They brought to the Pharisees the man

who had formerly been blind, and they

reviled him, saying, "You are his

disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.

We know that God has spoken to Moses,

but as for this man, we do not know

where he comes from." The man answered,

"Why, this is an amazing thing. You do

not know where he comes from, and yet he

opened my eyes. We know that God does

not listen to sinners. But if anyone is

a worshshiper of God and does his will,

God listens to him. Never since the

world began has it been heard that

anyone opened the eyes of a man born

blind.

If this man were not from God, he could

do nothing. They answered him, "You were

born in utter sin, and you would teach

us?" And they cast him out. Jesus heard

that they had cast him out. And having

found him, he said, "Do you believe in

the Son of Man?" He answered, "And who

is he, sir, that I may believe?" Jesus

said to him, "You have seen him, and it

is he who is speaking to you." He said,

"Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him.

Jesus said, "For judgment I came into

the world that those who do not uh see

may see, and those who see may become

blind." Some of the Pharisees near him

heard these things and said to him, "Are

we also blind?" Jesus said to them, "If

you were blind, you would have no guilt.

But now that you say we see, your guilt

remains." The Gospel of the Lord.

>> Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Let us pray.

>> Father, open our eyes and our ears that

we might see the working of the Holy

Spirit and hear what the spirit is

saying. And Holy Spirit, invite you to

come to speak through me your word, your

message for this congregation today.

Apply it to our hearts with power and

conviction and help us to walk it out

for the sake of Christ. It's in his name

that we pray. Amen. Please be seated.

I encourage you to turn to Ephesians

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5 in your Bibles as that's where

I'm going to spend the time this

morning. Even though it's tough to

ignore the story of David from 1 Samuel

and his anointing or the story of the

blind man and Jesus healing him or Psalm

23, the psalm of the good shepherd. But

God has really led me to focus on

Ephesians 5 and primarily the initial

verses. So if you turn there with me to

Ephesians 5, you'll see a very simple

and easy command and exhortation from

the Apostle Paul in verse one.

Therefore, be imitators of God.

No problem. Right?

So this is the scripture and you know we

as Anglicans here we stand on the

scripture. I mean, people in this church

made a great sacrifice and stance and

movement based on the scripture that we

would all be here and be Anglicans

today. And here's the message and the

exhortation to all of us. Be imitators

of God. It leaves it pretty open.

There's no emphasis on be imitators of

God when you're at church, be imitators

of God when it feels right, or be

imitators of God when he's doing

something that you like. It is general

and all the time. Be imitators of God.

It's overwhelming.

But you know, there's a wonderful saying

from the church fathers. What God

commands, he enables. That's grace.

That's grace versus law that leads to

punishment. Grace

enables what God commands and leads to

reconciliation and peace with God. So if

God commands us in his word to be an

imitator of him, he must be willing and

planning on being willing to and

planning on giving us the grace and the

power to imitate how God has made

himself known to us. And I think the

next phrase is key to understanding how

can we as sinful people so weak created

as we are. How can we imitate God? How

can we fulfill this command? Should we

just say well I can't do that and move

on and go from there or do we take this

seriously as the word of God and try to

understand how can I imitate God? And

one of the keys is right away in the

next phrase as beloved children.

And as hard as it is to believe that we

are supposed to imitate God and that

maybe we can in some or all ways in our

life. It I think is just as hard for us

to believe to really believe to accept

and to live out the truth that we are

beloved children of God.

Now I know some of you are are thinking

what are you talking about? But I know

John 3:16, God so loved the world that

John 3:16

he gave his only begotten son that

whoever believes in him should have

eternal life. I of course God loves

everyone. I know that.

And we could just gloss it over, go on

to the next thing. But to live in the

reality, in the true awareness and

acceptance that we are beloved children

of God is transformative.

It's also very confrontational and even

threatening because it requires us to

expose ourselves to God who knows all

things, who knows how to ask us

questions, who knows how to convict us

of our sins, who knows how to align us

with his word by disciplining us.

It's also very uncomfortable and

vulnerable

to just stop and be still and to let

someone love us. Even though I've heard

more than one Christian author say that

the most important thing that a believer

can do in his or her prayer life, in his

or her Christian life, is to let him or

herself be loved by God.

And that's the message. That's the

emphasis that God has put on my heart

this week and would not let me get away

from it. Even though I'd love to tell

the story of David or talk about the

blind man, God wants us to be imitators

of him by living in the reality and

truth that we are his beloved.

that

we can believe that Jesus is the beloved

son of God because he's perfect in every

way. We know that he is God, that he's

one with God.

And so, of course, God the Father would

love the perfect son, Jesus.

And in fact, that's a message of

scripture. It's emphasized. It is God's

expression to Jesus. In Mark chapter 1

Mark 1 · chapter mention

at the baptism, just like Matthew and

Luke's accounts, when Jesus is baptized

by John, he goes into the river. And as

he's coming out of the river and

praying, the heavens are open. The Holy

Spirit descends on him and then they

hear the voice of the father in heaven

saying to Jesus, "You are my beloved

son. With you I am well pleased."

And I think none of us doubt the

reality, the truth of God's expression

of love for Jesus. We also hear this

again on the mount of transfiguration

again narrated in all three, Matthew,

Mark, and Luke when Jesus is there on

the mountain. It's a time of prayer and

he's all of a sudden there with Moses

and Elijah. And then a cloud envelops

him as he is transfigured and glorified

there before John and James and Peter.

And as they're overwhelmed with the

glory of God, they hear God's voice say,

"This is my beloved son. Listen to him."

And we hear that and we think, "Of

course, Jesus is beloved of the father."

The miracle of the gospel

and the grace of God

is that we as sinners created by God

through the redemption that comes by

Jesus Christ can live into his

belovedness before the father.

that as the father loves the son, so

does he love those who by faith in Jesus

are adopted through him as the father's

sons and daughters. That God loves you

today, those of you who are in Christ no

less than he loves Christ himself,

is the mystery of the gospel. It is the

overwhelming message of grace that he

who created you

loves you today as much as the one who

is the creator. And and this is a prayer

of Jesus. And I know sometimes I doubt

my own prayers, but I don't doubt

Jesus's prayers. Do you? Do you think

the father answered Jesus's prayers?

In John 17, before he is arrested and

taken to the cross, Jesus in the garden

is praying for his disciples. He's

praying for the disciples that are with

him and those who will come after him.

He's praying for those like us who would

believe in him through the message that

is carried through the ages. And in John

17 26, his last petition to the father

on our behalf is this. He prays, "I made

known to them your name, and I will

continue to make it known that the love

with which you have loved me may be in

them and I in them."

While Jesus is praying to the father,

this is less of a request than an

assertion of truth of what is going to

happen. What is going to happen is that

Jesus is going to continue to make

himself f and the father and the holy

spirit known. And as he does that,

people are going to come to faith. And

the love that the father has for the

son, Jesus, is going to be in those who

come to faith in Jesus.

The same love that the father has for

the son that he declared at the baptism

and on the mount of transfiguration is

the same love that he has for you who

are in Christ today.

Can you believe that?

To imitate God,

we look to Jesus who is the exact

representation of God in the flesh. And

to imitate Jesus where we begin and

where God begins with us is to believe

in the belovedness of the father for the

son which Jesus lived into his entire

time on earth and for eternity. If

there's anything that stands out, for

example, in the Gospel of John, it is

the father's love for the son, the son's

reception of that love, and his response

by obedience and sacrifice to the

father's will on behalf of all people.

To imitate God is to begin with

accepting his love for you and believing

that you are loved

and living into that love.

And this is exactly what God has come to

us to do.

Jesus makes promises that those who

believe in him will receive the Holy

Spirit. Another like himself he calls

the helper, the counselor, or the

comforter. It's sometimes translated.

What he says is that to those who

believe in him, the father and the son

will come and make their home in that

person through the Holy Spirit. And what

is the Holy Spirit doing in us today?

Well, he's forming and shaping us in the

image of Christ. We know that he's

perfecting God's purpose and will in our

lives. But one of the very specific

things that the Holy Spirit of God is

doing in us is conveyed in Romans 5:5 as

Romans 5:5

Paul is speaking to those who have come

to peace with God through faith in

Jesus. And he says to them,

God's love has been poured into our

hearts through the Holy Spirit who's

been given to us. This isn't a it was

poured into our hearts or God generally

loves everyone. This is that the Holy

Spirit is in your heart now. If you've

received Jesus into your life and he is

pouring out God's love into your heart

constantly, it is the living water of

his presence that is being poured into

your heart. Our life of faith is to

believe in that love, to receive it, to

spend time really wallowing in his love.

That it would seep into every crevice of

our soul. That it would flood the doubts

that we have about ourselves. whether we

are loved, whether we are good enough,

whether we've made so many mistakes in

our life that we've missed it, whether

we're just going to skate to heaven by

the skin of our teeth, whether we've not

really lived a life that God can use or

that he would be happy with us. And so,

he's probably just put us in the corner.

to believe and to imitate God. To

believe in and imitate God is to believe

that we are 100% loved with

unconditional unfailing love that just

keeps pouring from the father's

expression.

There's a wonderful scripture in the Old

Testament. It's in Deuteronomy 33:12.

Deuteronomy 33:12

And when Moses, he's about to die and

the Israelites are going to go into the

promised land. and he he declares a

blessing over them and speaks a blessing

individually to each of the 12 tribes

and to the tribe of Benjamin

representing Benjamin, the youngest son

of Jacob, perhaps the smallest of the

tribes at that time. He prays this

blessing and he says in Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 33:12

33:12,

"Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure

in him for he shields him all day long

and the one the Lord loves rests between

his shoulders."

Now, we could read that and think, well,

he's talking about Benjamin. you know,

they went into the promised land. But

but the it is a statement of truth not

just for Benjamin but for the beloved of

the Lord

whom the New Testament says is us. For

God so loved you that he gave his only

begotten son. You are the beloved of the

Lord. And what this says about the

beloved is let the beloved of the Lord

rest secure in him.

Let the beloved of the Lord rest.

You can rest from trying to earn love.

You can rest from trying to hide

yourself from God's love because it's

just too overwhelming and

confrontational in comparison to how you

have lived your life. You can rest from

worrying about whether God loves you,

whether he is with you, whether he

delights in you, whether he is going to

welcome you into his eternal paradise

with joy.

You are the beloved of the Lord. Rest in

him. And in that rest, let his love

cascade over your life, your soul, your

mind, your heart.

Rest secure in him, for he shields him

all day long. And the one the Lord loves

rests between his shoulders.

Imagine this figurative image. The one

whom the Lord loves rests between his

shoulders.

If you're a parent, imagine yourself

giving your child a loving hug right

there between your shoulders. If you're

a child, imagine your parent giving you

that hug, embracing you so that you rest

right between his or her shoulders. your

imagine your friend, a a sibling, a

loved one, someone who comforts you,

encourages you, giving you that hug.

That's the expression of God's love for

us. We don't see it. We may not feel it.

We have to walk by faith in this love

that is for each of us through Christ.

It is an embrace. God saying to us,

"Listen, you can rest secure because

I've got you. And I want you to be as

close to my heart as can be between a

creature and the creator who created him

or her.

As we come to that truth, to be

imitators of God as his beloved

children,

verse two tells us to live this out, to

walk in love.

Walk in it. Live in this

true and real love that you have from

God.

walk in love as Christ loved us and gave

himself up for us, a fragrant offering

and sacrifice to God. Well, now we get

to the part that's just simply

impossible. How who who of us can walk

and live as Christ did? He was perfect.

And yet, this is the command twice given

in John to love one another as he has

loved us. And again, my hope, my

encouragement is in that reality that

what God commands us, what he demands of

us, by grace, he enables. By grace, he

edifies us so that we can live this out,

maybe not perfectly as Jesus did, but we

can walk it out and we can grow in it.

This love that Jesus demonstrated

as we offer ourselves to him, as we

follow him, we can live and walk in love

so that our lives become a fragrant

offering, a pleasing aroma to God as we,

as Paul exhorts in Romans 12 1-2, as we

offer ourselves to him as a living

sacrifice,

holy and pleasing to God through Christ,

not on our own.

When I think of Christ being a fragrant

offering and I think of fragrant

offerings being made to God, I think of

the image from John's revelation,

his vision of revelation where twice he

sees the throne room of God. He sees God

on his throne and he sees the prayers of

the saints ascending to God as incense.

And another way that we can imitate and

walk imitate God and walk in love is by

offering our prayers of intercession for

others. Others who are close to us,

others we don't know but who are under

threat, who are in need. And offer our

prayers to God as a fragrant offering

and sacrifice to him. Because if you've

spent much time in prayer, you know that

it is an offering. And it takes a

sacrifice to be still in God's love and

to offer prayers to him. And I want to

encourage you in your prayers um with a

testimony of an answer to prayer I heard

uh last week when we were at a clergy

conference with the clergy of our dasis

and one of the priests Brooke Bachelor

who's in Jacksonville came up to me and

he said I got to tell you what happened

at your church and my response like oh

oh no what happened because he was here

for the rehydrate conference and then

spent the weekend here for his meetings

on Monday and was with with us Sunday a

few weeks ago, but it was good. He said,

"During that service, I went to the

prayer intercessors during communion and

they prayed for me. His knee had been

hurting him for a long time and he

couldn't move it without it hurting."

He's probably 50ish. And so he went to

the prayer ministers at communion and he

said two mornings later he got up and

did his normal thing and realized that

his knee was no longer hurting that God

had healed it. And uh just a note he did

what what I could totally relate to. He

he found that his knee was healed and

wasn't hurting. So he kept moving it

around trying to make it hurt, which is

what we do because we just can't believe

that God loves us so much that God would

actually bless us like that, heal us, do

good for us. And that's exactly what

happened. He was healed through the

intercessory prayers that are prayed

here on Sundays. And God he hears and

answers our prayers. Maybe not always

how we want them to be answered. You

know, sometimes just like the beloved

son Jesus, we may have to pray, God, not

my will, but your will be done, and I'm

going to trust you that you're going to

bring me through this and express your

love to me in goodness.

And I also want to encourage you every s

every Sunday, those prayer intercessors

are there. They are an expression of

God's love. They are there to walk in

love and to serve you through prayer. So

don't leave here with un with prayers

that have not been made on your behalf.

if we need to, other people will jump up

and pray for those in line.

There is then a a change in the the tone

of what Paul writes here in verse three.

And I just want to touch on this a bit a

bit. Now he contrasts walking in love

and imitating God.

In verse three, he says, "But sexual

immorality and all impurity or covetness

must not even be named among you as is

proper among saints. Let there be no

filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude

joking, which are out of place, but

instead let there be thanksgiving."

Why does he emphasize sexual immorality

and covetness here? Filthiness, foolish

talk, crude joking as contrast to

walking in love. There's a lot of sins

he could list. But as I thought about

this, sexual immorality and covetousness

objectify other people. Rather than

loving them and expressing God's love,

it creates a desire to get from them

something to indulge ourselves.

And so it's the opposite of love. And

what this is getting to is the severity

of the contrast between walking in the

love of God and living according to the

ways of this world and our own flesh. It

is directly contrasting.

And as we devote ourselves to God as his

disciples, as we learn of him, to follow

Jesus through scripture, through prayer,

through worship, through our ministry

together, we are also being discipled by

the world and the devil that tickles our

flesh. And we have to be really careful

how the world is discipling us in so

many ways to make us like it.

One way to guard against that is

mentioned here in verse four, but

instead let there be thanksgiving.

Devote yourself to being thankful to the

Lord. Rather than wanting somebody,

wanting to lust after something,

desiring something of the world, be

thankful to God for all of his goodness

and his grace and his blessings. I heard

a wonderful testimony today about an a

woman who had gone through some trials

and by God's grace she rather than

bemoone those trials she committed

herself to being thankful to the extent

that whenever she was asked how are you

how are you doing she would answer I am

thankful I thought what a wonderful

posture to life to be constantly

thankful

for God's goodness and love rather than

lusting or coveting after what's in this

world to be thanksgiving or to be

thankful always.

Paul goes on to warn us later in this

chapter to look carefully how we walk.

How are we walking in this world? Is it

in love? Is it as God's beloved? Or is

it in anxiety, in fear, in covetousness,

in lust, in panic,

wondering whether God is really going to

come through for us or if he really

loves us? When we find ourselves

doubting his love or forgetting that we

are his beloved, it just means to come

back to him, to rest secure in him, and

to let him pour out his love upon us.

And as we are filled with love, that

love will overflow to other people

around us. And we can let them know how

much they are loved by God. And I heard

another wonderful testimony. I love

hearing the testimonies of the people in

the church and our dasis. And one of

those is from Christy. So Christy, you

can come up. Christy Krill, as you know,

leads the ministry of the dive and is

interacting with some people in very

dire straits um here in our community.

and she's coming off a wonderful gala

that they had last night as a

fundraiser. But I want to share I want

Christie to share with you a story about

someone she interacted with this week in

the hospital who was really bad off and

we would even say was a really bad

person, but Christy walked in love. And

so tell us about that.

>> Can you hear me?

>> Yep.

>> Good morning.

I uh visit and work with homeless

patients all over Chattam County in

partnership with every hospital, the

court system, and um every first

responding organization in town. It's

not unusual for me to get a call to come

to the jail, the streets, the hospital,

a detox ward, or anything like that. But

what is unusual is for me to get a

patient that spans every single one of

those um organizations that I just

mentioned. About a week and a half ago,

I got called to come to Memorial

Hospital for a patient whose name I

can't disclose, but he was in CPU 10 in

the tower at Memorial.

I was briefed on this patient by every

uh organization pretty much that I

mentioned. I had his criminal background

um record that was read like a phone

book. I had his medical chart that was

bleak. I had his toxicology report. And

I had it under very good authority from

all of the people that that briefed me

on this man that he was not a person

that I wanted to know. This was

hopeless. But we're calling you to see

what you can uh do here and are you

willing? And I was willing. I said,

"Yes, I'm willing." However, I was

prepared to be offended and appalled

because of what I had read. So, I headed

to Memorial Hospital. I went up to his

room and um I knocked as I do and when I

stepped inside the doctor was finishing

up with him and um all of a sudden u my

my wall came down and all I could see

was this man's soul. I asked him if it

was okay for me to talk with him. He

said yes. And I explained while why I

was there and that when they call me,

it's usually because it's it seems

pretty impossible. And he said, "I'll

I'll agree with that." So

I said to him the only thing I could

think to say, and that was, "What do you

need God to do for you?" And this man

said, "I don't think God can do anything

with me."

I said, "That's not true.

Psalm 139 tells me, tells you that he

saw every day you would ever live,

everything you would ever do, everything

that would ever be done to you. And he

looked at you in every moment of your

life and he said, you know, he's going

to do a lot. He's going to leave a lot

of harm. A lot of harm's going to be

done to him. But if I don't create him,

creation

won't be complete. So, I'm going to make

him. him and then I'm going to spend

every breath he takes drawing him back

to me. So we move from Psalm 139 to John

John 3:16

3:16 where God so loved the world that

he gave his only son that also applied

to my patient. The gospel was not

complex in that room. There were heavy

issues, many, many things going on.

But I said to him,

"Do you believe what I just said?" And

he said, "I think you believe it." And I

said, "I do believe it with all that is

in me, but especially sitting right here

with you." And he said, "I believe,

too." And I said, "Would you like to ask

Jesus to come into your heart and to get

involved in your life? Those are the

steps." And he said, "I would, but I

don't know what to say." And I said,

'You know, then you can repeat after me.

Guys, I had a mountain of evidence

to support the fact that God had in fact

created a disposable human being. But

that is not true.

And I know that in this room

either some of us or someone you know

may not have invited Jesus to come into

their hearts and receive that love that

man I'll tell you I have a hard time

receiving some love. I bet a lot of you

know that. But I know that if we ask him

to he is coming. So, what we're going to

do now is I'm going to say the same

prayer that I said with this man um when

he asked Jesus to come into his heart.

I'll tell you what happened next. He

went home to his family. He had a cousin

that was willing to take a shot on him

and we did get him home with his family

much like a prodal. What will happen

from here is between them and the Lord.

But now I would like to go to a place

with you that I went with him and uh

pray the the prayer of salvation.

Dear Jesus, I believe that you made me

and I know that you love me and that you

gave your life for me.

I have messed up in ways that are seen,

in ways that are not seen. But I am

asking you to come into my heart and my

life. And I trust that you will in Jesus

name. Amen.

>> Amen.

>> Thank you.

>> Thanks for seating.

>> You can take it. Just take it and turn

it off.

Before I close, I want to encourage you

as we celebrate St. Patrick's Day on

Tuesday. We celebrate St. Patrick's Day

because Patrick was an evangelist who

loved so much that he was willing to

give his life for his capttors who had

enslaved him, being willing to go to

Ireland and share the gospel with those

who he thought would probably kill him.

But God went with him and they became

believers and Christians. As you have

the opportunity, as anyone brings up

thanks St. Patrick's Day with you this

week, take the opportunity to share what

made St. Patrick so famous and

celebratory. That is that he went to

Ireland and shared the love of Jesus.

And you can just ask, do you know the

love of Jesus?

And take it away just like Christy did.

Very simple. So let's close in prayer.

Father, help us to share your love. Help

us to see people as you do. Those

created and made in your image and

likeness. Those for whom Christ died.

Those to whom you are extending your

arms in love that they would be with you

forever in paradise. Holy Spirit, what

you command in your word, come and

strengthen and enable us to receive your

love and to love as we have been loved

in word and deed. Amen.

Standing, let us affirm our faith in the

words of the nine creed.

We believe in one God, the father,

m and earth of all is visible and

invisible.

We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the

only begotten son of God, eternally

begotten of the father, God from God,

light from light, true God from true

God, begotten not made, of one being

with the Father. Through him all things

were made. For us and for our salvation,

he came down from heavenc was incarnate

from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary

and was made.

For our sake, he was crucified under

Pilot. He suffered death and was buried.

On the third day, he rose again in

accordance with the scriptures. He

descended into

seated at the right hand of the father.

He will come again in glory to judge the

living and the dead and his kingdom will

have no end. I believe in the holy

spirit

giver of life who proceeds from the

father and the son with the father and

the son is worshiped and glorified.

We believe in one holy catholic and

apostolic church. We acknowledge one

baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We

look for the resurrection of the dead

and life of the world to come. Amen.

The prayers of the people are on page

eight of the printed order.

Let us pray for the church and for the

world saying here our prayer

for the peace of the whole world and for

the well-being and unity of the people

of God.

Lord in your mercy

our pray

>> for Steve our archbishop

Julian our provincial dean Alex our

bishop and for all the clergy and people

of our dasis and congregation

especially Christ Church Anglican Christ

Church Anglican Church Crawfordville

Florida and for the Kirk Presbyter ian

church in Savannah.

>> Father, I also lift up Father Drew

Miller who was had been with Christ

Church Anglican for a while. He's now

the new director of St. James Anglican

Church in Charleston. I pray that you

bless him and his family and the church

as he settles in to lead that church.

Father, help him, guide him, bless him.

Also

in your mercy, Here our pray

>> for all those who proclaim the gospel at

home and abroad and for all who teach

and disciple others especially new wines

skins for global missions and the dive

savannah

particular

candidates we ask you to bless him and

others that they may experience the life

of giving and gifts of your spirit. We

also pray for those who are ministering

the prison

and ask that you would bless that

ministry and bring light.

Lord in your mercy here our pray

>> for all members of your holy church that

in their vocation and ministry they may

truly and devoutly serve you especially

for all those working in business and

finance.

Lord in your mercy here our pray

>> for our brothers and sisters in Christ

who are persecuted for their faith

especially those in the country of Cuba

Lord in your mercy here our pray

>> for our nation for all those in

authority and for all in public service

especially the armed forces. es of our

country and our allies. Protect them in

the day of battle and in the time of

peace. Keep them ready and strong in the

full armor of God.

>> Father, we pray for all the first

responders and staff in our city and

county as they care for those coming.

celebrate the parade, clean it up after.

God, we pray that you keep everyone

safe, that there'll be peace and order,

and bless those who care for our city

and its people.

Father,

we are

worship

God. We thank you for those

gone before us and given their life in

this country to protect that. We pray

for the families and those that

currently throughout the world have lost

loved ones in love.

We thank you

Lord in your mercy here our pray

>> for all those who are in trouble,

sorrow,

need, sickness or any other adversity.

Father, we lift up Ralph Mary Jane Ross

to you

right.

>> Lord in your mercy here our pray.

For all those who have departed this

life in the certain hope of the

resurrection in thanksgiving, let us

pray.

Lord in your mercy here our pray.

>> Your additional prayers are invited at

this time.

>> Father we pray for the clergy spouse

retreat for all the spouses clergy in

our dasis are able to go. I want to

thank you for Jody Bishop's wife.

coordinating it. We pray that all will

go well. Bless all the coming and going

time of ministry and fellowship.

those

blessings.

Bless

Heavenly Father, grant these our prayers

for Jesus Christ's sake, our only

mediator and advocate, who lives and

reigns with you in unity of the Holy

Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Let us humbly confess our sins to

Almighty God.

Most merciful God,

>> we confess we have sinned against you in

love with our whole heart. We have not

loved ourselves. We are truly sorry

for the sake of your son Jesus Christ

have mercy on us and for us that we may

walk in your

glory.

Amen.

Almighty God, our heavenly father, who

in his great mercy has promised

forgiveness of sins to all those who

sincerely repent and with true faith

turn to him, have mercy upon you, pardon

and deliver you from all your sins,

confirm and strengthen you in all

goodness, and bring you to everlasting

life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

>> Amen.

>> Hear the word of God to all who truly

turn to him.

Come to me all who labor and are heavy

laden and I will give you rest. God so

loved the world that he gave his only

begotten son that whoever believes in

him should not perish but have eternal

life. The saying is trustworthy and

deserving of full acceptance that Christ

Jesus came into the world to save

sinners. If anyone sins, we have an

advocate with the father, Jesus Christ

the righteous. He is the the

propitiation for our sins and not for

ours only, but also for the sins of the

whole world. Please stand.

The peace of the Lord be always with

you.

>> With your spirit.

>> Greet one another with signs of peace.

Great job.

Thanks,

All right. Good morning again, everyone.

And I want to encourage you to take your

orders of worship with you and review

the upcoming events. And also, if you

haven't already, subscribe to the

newsletter. There's a QR code the inside

of your orders of worship and that way

you can see what all all is upcoming

each week and some of these are you need

to register beforehand

and I definitely want to highlight the

shindig. Um I appreciate uh the prayer

for the shindig that is happening on

Saturday night 5 to 7:30. If you were

there last year you know you don't want

to miss this. If you didn't come to the

first shindig last year, let me tell

you, you don't want to miss this. It's

gonna be a great time of fun and

fellowship and food. There will be live

and silent auctions with some really

good items that you're going to want to

really go for it so you can win them.

And it is all for the good cause of

raising funds for our mission trips this

summer that are happening. a group going

to Uganda and then a group going to Lamb

Institute in Honduras. So you can be a

part of those mission trips through your

donations and also through just coming

to the Shindig and having fun there. I

also um want to thank the group that

helped Joelle and his family move from

one place to the other in the last

couple weeks, especially David and Loren

Corbin who coordinated that move. And uh

just thanks to everyone who helped with

that. And we're glad you got moved, you

and your family.

As we approach the Lord's table, as Paul

writes in Ephesians 5:2, let us walk in

Ephesians 5:2

love as Christ has loved us and given

himself a fragrant offering and

sacrifice. And he did that for us. So in

your offerings, your tithes, and as you

come to the table, walk in love and know

that he will meet you here with his love

for you. Amen.

All divine

love

joy of heaven to earth.

Jesus, thou art all compassion.

You're our

love

us with my Salvation

lod.

Let us all ine.

Let us find the proest.

Take away the

s.

the mighty to

let us

see

and never

threat

as thy praise

and praise thee without ceasing. Glory

in thy perfect love.

Please stand.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the

power and the glory and the victory and

the majesty. For everything in heaven

and on earth is yours. Yours is the

kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as

head above all. All things come from

you, O Lord.

and

>> the Lord be with you.

>> And with your spirit.

>> Lift up your hearts

to the Lord.

>> Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

>> It is right to give him thanks and

praise.

>> It is right, our duty, and our joy

always and everywhere to give thanks to

you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven

and earth. You bid your faithful people

cleanse their hearts and prepare with

joy for the pascal feast that fervent in

prayer and in works and mercy and

renewed by your word and sacrament they

may come to the fullness of grace which

you have prepared for those who love

you. Therefore we praise you joining our

voices with angels and archangels and

with all the company of heaven who

forever sing this hymn to proclaim the

glory of your name.

Holy,

holy,

holy

Lord God of host

glory.

Glory

to the Lord.

Bless

in the

Holy and gracious Father, in your

infinite love, you made us for yourself.

And when we had sinned against you and

become subject to evil and death, you in

your mercy sent your only son Jesus

Christ into the world for our salvation.

By the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,

he became flesh and dwelt among us. In

obedience to your will, he stretched out

his arms upon the cross and offered

himself once for all that by his

suffering and death, we might be saved.

By his resurrection, he broke the bonds

of death, trampling hell and Satan under

his feet. As our great high priest, he

ascended to your right hand in glory,

that we may come within with confidence

before the throne of grace.

On the night that he was betrayed, our

Lord Jesus Christ took bread and when he

had given thanks, he broke it and gave

it to his disciples, saying, "Take, eat.

This is my body which is given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

Likewise, after supper, Jesus took the

cup and when he had given thanks, he

gave it to them, saying, "Drink this all

of you, for this is my blood of the new

covenant, which is shed for you and for

many, for the forgiveness of sins.

Whenever you drink it, do this in

remembrance of me.

Therefore, we proclaim the mystery of

faith.

We celebrate the memorial of our

redemption, O Father, in this sacrifice

of praise and thanksgiving. And we offer

you these gifts. Sanctify them by your

word and holy spirit to be for your

people the body

and blood of your son Jesus Christ.

sanctify us also that we may worthily

receive his holy sacrament and be made

one body with him that he may dwell in

us and we in him in the fullness of

time. Put all things in subjection unto

your Christ and bring us with all your

saints into the joy of your heavenly

kingdom where we shall see our Lord face

to face. All this we ask through your

son Jesus Christ.

By him, with him, and in him, in unity

of the Holy Spirit,

all honor and glory is yours, almighty

father, now and forever. Amen.

And now, as our savior Christ has taught

us, we are bold to pray.

Our Father, who art in heaven,

be thy name,

>> thy kingdom come, thy will be done on

earth as it is in heaven.

>> Give us this day our daily bread, and

forgive us our trespasses as we forgive

those who trespass against us, and lead

us not into temptation, but deliver us

from evil. For thine is the kingdom and

the power and the glory forever and

ever. Amen.

praying together.

We do not presume to come to this your

table, oh merch of the world, trusting

in our own righteousness, but in your

abundant and great mercies. You are not

worthy so much as to gather up the

crumbs under your tablec. But you are

the same Lord whose character is always

to have mercy. Grant us therefore,

gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of

your son Jesus Christ, and to drink his

blood,

>> that our sinful bodies may be made clean

by his body and our souls washed through

his most precious blood that we may ever

more dwell in him and he us. Amen.

Lamb of God, you take away

the sin of the world,

have mercy on us.

have merc

of the world.

Grant

us grant us your peace.

Behold the Lamb of God. Behold him who

takes away the sin of the world. Blessed

are those who are invited to the

marriage supper of the Lamb.

allies.

All the peace

are Glories worship.

Allies,

allship.

Sh.

is

All things

the

water

All

you are

gentle knowled.

I know

for a church.

Woo!

Heat. Heat.

Heat.

Heat. Heat.

Yeah.

Heat.

Yeah. Heat.

Heat. Heat.

Heat.

We shall

see. Heat. Heat.

Hallelujah.

to

all who are

living

with

everyone. Christ

why

heal.

Heat. Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat.

All

your

praise.

This is the

heat.

Heat. Heat.

Oh,

praise

God.

Heat. Heat.

Heat.

Yeah.

Heat.

Heat. Heat.

Yeah. Heat.

Heat.

Oh,

heat, heat.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for

feeding us with the spiritual food of

the most precious body and blood of your

son, our savior Jesus Christ. and for

assuring us in these holy mysteries that

we are living members of the body of

your son and hes

to you

honor and glory now and forever. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all

understanding keep your hearts and minds

in the knowledge and love of God and of

his son Jesus Christ our Lord. And the

blessing of God Almighty, the Father,

the Son, and the Holy Spirit be among

you and remain with you always. Amen.

Heat.

Heat up

here.

Heat

up

here.

Heat.

Oh,

heat, heat.

Yeah. Heat.

Heat

up here.

Let us go forth in the name of Christ.

>> Thanks be to God.